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Apple breaks Palm Pre syncing with v8.2.1

Robert Hallock July 15, 2009 3:04 PM ET in Tech

giantappleLast month, we reported that Apple and Palm had fired the first shots in a dispute over the Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes. The sync capability was touted as a headlining feature of Palm’s hail mary pass of a gadget, and Apple was not about to let someone tinker around in their software/hardware ecosystem.

Flip to today, and the battle is heating up! Apple has released iTunes version 8.2.1 which breaks the sync feature between the Pre and iTunes. Thankfully, the Pre identifies as a mass storage device, so owners can continue drop music onto the doodad as they would a USB drive.

We can’t help but wonder how many days will elapse until a token firmware update for the Pre restores functionality.

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21 Comments:

  1. MiracleManS
    Mediocrity Gets You Pears
    15 Jul '09, 3:11 pm

    I'm just curious how long this will go on until one of them finally says "fine I give up" or tries the legal route.

  2. Buddy J
    Dept. of Propaganda
    15 Jul '09, 3:13 pm

    It was only a matter of time. I wonder how this will pan out. Will Apple further lock down its store, or will Palm pay a licensing fee for the use of Apple's technology?

  3. mertesn
    Icrontic Duke of Haxor
    15 Jul '09, 3:14 pm

    Or will Palm sue Apple claiming an illegal monopoly and/or unfairly locking them out of iTunes?
    Of course Apple could probably find some DMCA charge to bring against Palm for circumventing their non-Apple device lockout.

  4. Buddy J
    Dept. of Propaganda
    15 Jul '09, 3:18 pm

    It all comes down to Palm drinking Apple's milkshake.

  5. Robert Hallock
    Cad
    15 Jul '09, 3:26 pm

    LOL, I love that scene.

  6. _k_
    deep in the bush
    15 Jul '09, 3:48 pm

    I am going to go home and watch that movie, thank you apple and thank you buddy J

  7. djmeph
    Newb
    15 Jul '09, 4:45 pm

    Thanks for the heads up, turning off Apple Software Update now.

  8. Cliff_Forster
    Keepin it real
    15 Jul '09, 7:27 pm

    Something has to give. Apple has established a practical digital music distribution monopoly with an inferior product sold with slick marketing. Now they are leveraging their market position to limit your choices as a consumer on how you enjoy music purchased through their store.

    When will consumers wake up?

  9. Robert Hallock
    Cad
    15 Jul '09, 7:31 pm

    Inferior product?

    Inferior to what, exactly?

  10. Cliff_Forster
    Keepin it real
    15 Jul '09, 8:45 pm

    Zune pass is a much better deal, the UI is better, the DRM free store is better. Ten downloads plus all you can eat for $14.99 is a stupid good deal compared to paying $1.29 per itune.

  11. Robert Hallock
    Cad
    15 Jul '09, 8:46 pm

    Rented music vs. purchased music is a better deal?

    And UI is just opinion.

  12. Mr TRiot
    Icrontic Posting Maniac
    15 Jul '09, 8:59 pm
    Quoting Thrax

    Rented music vs. purchased music is a better deal?

    And UI is just opinion.

    rented music...lol, that's a funny concept

  13. primesuspect
    The Icrontic Guy
    15 Jul '09, 8:59 pm

    I personally loathe the rented music model. I refuse to participate. I want to own the music I purchase.

    Although the DMCA almost makes it seem like renting sometimes....

  14. Snarkasm
    The Photographer.
    15 Jul '09, 9:01 pm

    Well, the hardware can be considered inferior in terms of poor codec support, no radio tuner; if those things were important to you, you wouldn't be buying an iPod anyway, though.

  15. Robert Hallock
    Cad
    15 Jul '09, 9:05 pm

    Inferior from a nerd's perspective. You think John Q. Public cares about OGG or FLAC? Hell no.

  16. Snarkasm
    The Photographer.
    15 Jul '09, 9:06 pm

    Hey, I qualified it fairly. If you were a nerd or an audiophile, you weren't looking to get an iPod in the first place.

  17. Cliff_Forster
    Keepin it real
    15 Jul '09, 9:09 pm

    Guys, we have been over this. The zune pass includes ten songs to keep permanently each month, since they are DRM free, thats $13 in itunes value, so for $2 extra a month, rent all you want. It is a great deal. The Zune store has always supported DRM free music as well. Itunes is finally getting around to it, and hey, you have re download your collection DRM free for an extra cost, thats a great deal!!! Pay to un bork the files you already paid to own!!!

    If you think itunes offers a better value than Zune pass, then you my friend are a victim of Apples snazzy marketing, and I feel sorry for ya.

  18. Snarkasm
    The Photographer.
    15 Jul '09, 9:14 pm

    You know I hate to disagree with you, Cliff (lul), but the math doesn't work for you. For $15 a month in both services, after a year of putting it into iTunes, I have 180 songs; after a year into a ZunePass, I have 120 songs. After 5 years, that's a 300-song gap.

    Economics says the ZunePass isn't better than iTunes+(Pandora, or Grooveshark, or LaLa, or myriad other free alternatives).

  19. airbornflght
    McLovin
    16 Jul '09, 5:10 pm

    But what you aren't accounting for is the ability to have anything in the zune library on your zune. Which gives you the time to decide if you really want to spend your ten credits on a song or album.

    The two business models are different and people will decide which one works best for them. Obviously the different models appeal to different people because not everyone is exclusively using one or the other.

    Apple got into the market first, which allowed them to establish themselves. But lately, Microsoft has been doing a tremendous job both in hardware and software design and I look for them to give apple a run for their money. And now that DRM is beginning to disappear people will be able to make these choices once again as their collections will truly be portable.

    Me personally, I'm waiting for the ZuneHD. I wouldn't mind having an ipod, I like the interface, but they refuse to play wma.

  20. ardichoke
    King Banana Spanner
    19 Jul '09, 2:10 pm

    I think you're all wrong. The superior platform is Napster! $5/mo., 5 free downloads per month (billed every 3 months, free downloads reset every 3 months) and unlimited streaming. Plus they give you a discount if you buy a full CD as opposed to purchasing tracks a la carte. For instance, I bought 21st Century Breakdown, an 18 track album, and it only used 12 of my free track credits. For those of you that like the "rental" model, they have a to-go service as well that's more expensive but lets you load up your player with as much content as you want.

  21. airbornflght
    McLovin
    19 Jul '09, 2:14 pm

    That's what I subscribe to is napster to go which is essentially the zune pass without the download credits per month that the zune pass has. But I'm ok with that because I use napster for other reasons.

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